Hot Shots II

10 songs where the band try to re-capture the vibe of their breakout "Dry The Rain". They don't manage it. Diet Trip-Hop.

They have better stuff - but still some standout tracks.

Quite quirky, fairly mellow, interesting enough to hold my attention while it was on, but not amazing enough to really make me want to return.

A fairly forgettable take on trip hop, so forgettable that I'm having trouble coming up with anything to say about it even shortly after listening. There were some individual moments that caught my ear: the pleasant hook on Squares, the more energetic drums on Quiet, the glitchy sound effects that peppered the whole project. Other than that, nothing was distinct enough to make any sort of comment on. Cool album cover though.

really boring

This was fine. The first track grabbed me, but I'm a sucker for anyone using samples from Daydream. The rest of the album showed promise, but didn't captivate me. I'd listen through it again, if I ever thought to put it on. Squares is going on the playlist for sure.

This is...fine? Indie rock songs with a lot of beep-boop electronica replacing or paralleling the more traditional instrumentation. It's very distinctive, and kinda cool, if not necessarily something that I would actively seek out to listen to.

Not very interesting. Felt like I was being quietly talked to the whole time.

what are these ratings if not our own subjective takes on the music? If I were a proper critic I am sure this needs to be rated low. But alas I will rate based on what I liked and what I didn't for a variety of reasons. All of this to say, I am not quite sure why this was on this list but it's right up my alley; a preferred genre of mine during a workday. If I saved and managed playlists, this would go on it.

Really liked the first song but found the rest of the album boring so I was disappointed.

Bland. Nothing special.

Pretty cool. I like the classic rock sound. I'd listen again.

The band's bio on Spotify: "Arguably one of the most acclaimed and loved bands of the time, by both fans and musical peers alike". Great copywriter - a little exaggerated though - okay, a lot! To be fair, I listened to it one day, didn't pay attention, so I tried again the next day. It didn't get any better. There are a couple of decent songs here, but too many that are just annoying. It's a no for me. Arguably.

A nice amount of experimental

A bit boring overall with some nice moments scattered about. 2-3 stars

Great sound, adictive

Mellow and Bland. Nothing "Hot" about this album. NOt horrible, jsut not worth your time.

Not bad

4/10 – Weak

A surprise a Beta Band album that I haven't heard and I like it a lot.

I’m realising that if you want a 5 from me just add synths on top of a rock band. I loved every song here. But I think from Dragon to the last song Eclipse is where this album truly shines

⭐️Squares

This was fine. Not sure why it's on the list though. Absolutely nothing distinguishing this from a load of other average albums. 2.5/5.0

not as good as the other entry from the beta band. decent enough but didnt need a second from them on the list

Great album from a great Scottish band. 4.2

Opening track has a collection bass line hook and I remember the song. The rest after that is fine but unremarkable.

Altern. Rock, 2001 -> 2

Was pretty fun and different, but a bit too soupy and similar all the way thru. still quite enjoyed it

today we've got something a little less known, this is the second album released by scottish band the beta band. the group wanted to put in whatever they could for this album, mixing all sorts of genre influence to create a cd that didn't sound like anything else on the market. and this is the result of that idea. i guess they achieved this goal for the most part. it's a very curious musical style, indie... electronic... downtempo... hip hop... i really can't pinpoint the exact kind of sound, but it's unique, nonetheless. i can't name you a cd that sounds like this one! if i'm being real here, there's nothing too notable about this collection of tunes.... singing is a bit all over the place and songs aren't really... there's just not a lot offered to me. i don't really have a lot to say about it. all the music just melted and mixed between each other and i wasn't really engaged for too long. another nothing album from a band i haven't heard of before... that's all i can tell you.

No. 422/1001 Squares 3/5 AI Sharp 3/5 Human Being 3/5 Gone 3/5 Dragon 3/5 Broke 3/5 Quiet 3/5 Alleged 4/5 Life 3/5 Eclipse 3/5 Average: 3,1 Musically really interesting, but no song clicked for me, so that I would want to listen again.

I fell asleep but the songs are good

не зацепило.

Not unpleasant but not memorable

🤷‍♂️

Unremarkable.

Heard the name before but don’t think I’ve listened to them before. Pretty decent sounds here though.

Exactly what I pictured Radiohead openers would be

Forgettable

What a lovely way to spend a bit of time it is to hear the Beta Band. The singer just has a really nice voice, and it's all very pleasant. That niceness and pleasantness maybe stops them from really pulling at the old heartstrings, but I certainly wouldn't be against having to hear this on multiple occasions.

Two albums from The Beta Band. A band I have never heard of and a band whose first album I gave two stars. Now, their second album is in this book, which means the band made three albums and two of them are in this book. The less said the better, as any band that has 66% of their album output in this book should be one of the greatest and/or most influential bands of all-time. Beta Band is not one of the greatest bands of all-time. The only reason this band should have two albums in this book is if members of the Beta Band had blackmail on the editors of the book. This is unobtrusive and is not terribly notable. It's so laid back at times that I forgot to pay attention to it. I want to like the Beta Band, but it is just not working for me. I can't get there because the music is not compelling enough for me to engage with it and I feel there are bands that do this lo-fi sound better. The Beta Band have hopefully now destroyed all the blackmail materials they had on the editors of this book.

Interesting and enjoyable.

eh, okay

Yeah , liked this

Nice and chilled.

Pretty chill vibe and enough decent songs to carry it. Still think something is missing with this band - not sure what !

It’s a bit of a gem isn’t it. Very chilled, and every song has some subtlety or nuance of harmony or instrumentation that makes it unique amongst a very ‘together’ sounding album. I haven’t listened to it in years, but I was straight back in love with it. It’s definitely their strongest album.

Very nice. Relaxed, chilled, interesting. I can see why some might think it's vanilla, but I love its vibe. Great album

That wasn't a particularly exciting album.

rehash of other bands from what I'm hearing. A bit of Portishead in there, plus other bands which have done it better.

Fairly dull. Budget trip hop/My Morning Jacket crossover.

I quite like Steve Mason's solo stuff, but this wasn't as good.

Fun and weird and enjoyable. I've had The 3 EPs before and remember enjoying that on CD but I'm torn between a 3 and 4 here.

This album was much better than the "hey, I've got a pre-teen cousin who's really good at Photoshop" album cover would lead you to expect. Reminds me of Beck and maybe Gorillaz. This would be a 5 star album if the singer didn't sound so much like he was trying to sound like the guy from Canned Heat. Still, solid 4 stars.

**4/5** – This one really surprised me. At first I was trying to figure out what to even call it—alt-pop maybe?—and it reminded me a lot of Beck, with some hints of what I'd later hear from AWOLNATION. But the deeper I got, the harder it became to put into one genre. There's prog rock, electronic, pop, synth-pop, folk and psychedelia all mixed together, and somehow it works. ([AllMusic][1]) A lot of these “must listen” albums on this list are just good background music; this album demands your attention. In fact, I got so sucked into it that about six songs in I realized I'd completely forgotten to stop and take notes. There's so much happening that I feel like I'll hear something new every time I go back to it. An easy 4 stars for me

This was okay. A decent chill vibe, but kind of one dynamic the entire time. I would have liked it if it had picked up the energy a little bit at any point, but I suppose that's not really the band's whole thing. This is probably a good record to put on when you get high.

There are *two* Beta Band albums on this list? Wow. The other was my very first in the project, and I gave it a lowly 2. I enjoyed this album *slightly* more—the songs are less, erm, cartoonishly poppy—but it’s really not worth even 3 stars. Decidedly not essential. 2.5, at best.

Не зашло, кроме первого трека

4.5

Well, they’re not the alpha band for a reason. My biggest disappointment was that this wasn’t the soundtrack to a Charlie Sheen screen classic (the difference is ‘part Deux’). Nah, to be fair, this wasn’t its own vibe with very introspective lyrics. I tried listening to this on a jog, but the drum machine on Al Sharp caused my heart to emphasize and beat arrhythmically.

not bad, a little bit difficult to describe. slightly Beck-ish.

Another on the shelves. I don't reach for this very often. Despite liking The Beta Band, a whole album's worth can be a tad tiresome. Heard before ✅️ Listened this time ✅️ Revisit ✅️ ★★★☆☆(6/10) Total reviewed : 407 Already owned : 91 Purchased : 21 To buy : 3 Nope : 291

Absolutely forgettable. Nothing stands out about Hot Shots II, guessing Hot Shots I wasn’t any better.

It’s ok in a low key, background way. The odd 60s folk psychedelic undertone was mildly interesting. It’s also easy to say it fits all the words common in the reviews on here; ordinary, meh, dull. Listened a few times while doing some DIY, and as said mild interest, not exactly must hear, and didn’t realise I had already had an album by them. 2 albums of mild interest is definitely too much, somewhere between 2 and 3 but cause don’t think it should be here it’s a 2 Star

This was a nice listen for some sunday driving.

Fine

Wasn't bad at all!

Pretty anonymous album. I like some of the electronic sounds, but the singing is mostly feeling pretty bland for me. Maybe repeated listenings would help me to apprieciate this album more. I rate it 2,5.

Sorprendido por lo poco genial que me pareció. No está mal, pero en esta lista ya había salido otro álbum de los Beta band que me había fascinado. Obviamente tenía grandes expectativas para este, pero terminó pareciéndome tremendamente genérico. Ni modo.

Don’t judge an album by its cover, but there’s a bit of truth to it. Cool production, chill songs, but a bit bland at times. Rating: 5/10 Favorite Song: Squares

1.7

Yes yes the ever so influential cultural cornerstone “The Beta Band”.

Second one from The Beta Band and another great album. While I enjoyed every song on it, it didn’t have anything standout that would make me push to 5 stars. Still it’s definitely one I’ll be going back to. Top Track - Quiet

We thought it was decent. Led up down a rabbit hole of the various artists who have sampled daydream in blue.

They didn't deserve 2 spots in the Top 1001. Come on. That means they batted .750 for their career with 2 of 3 total albums making it to what should be the ultimate list of all time albums. The band, and this album, are good. But they are not must-hear level of music. They have one song on this album with a real listener count, that's the opener, "Squares", with 11M listens. The rest of the album averages around 300K listens. It's not that the rest of the world missed this one, it just wasn't good enough to appeal to a mass audience. Their sound, across all 3 albums, remains relatively the same in tempo and style. I have NO idea what sets this album apart from the other two. I actually lost interest mid-way and forgot the album was playing, each song sounded like the one before it. Boring retread, "been there, done that" was the theme of this one. They had a blueprint and they followed it, probably why they fizzled out at 3 albums. 3 stars and that is generous.

Nice in a mediocre way.

1001 need resuscitation. Seriously, you need help after this and the latest heaps of crap you keep dumping. 🚽 💩 Album wankers

jošte jedan sasma neloš album ovog benda. no, premda je jako počeo, malo mi se sve do kraja usralo, pogotovo sa zadnjom stvarju. i prethodno preslušan njihov album bio mi je nekako između trojke i četvorke, a budući da sam tomu ipak dao četiri, ovaj će dobiti trojčicu

What an unexpected enjoyable listen this album was. Part of it reminded me of Pink Floyd and The beatles. The production was great. The album is an ambient, whimsical, spacey vibe and the vocalist's voice feels perfectly suited to this style. Favorite Tracks: Human being Broke Squares

I Seen The Demons 1001 Albums Generator 317 (7/30/2026) Relatively unremarkable trip-hop/psychedelia. Some interesting production choices and one really good song (Squares) do not a great album make. Why are there two albums by these guys on here? 2/5. Favs: Squares Human Being Broke Least Fav: Gone

solid 2 stars

Sounded like Coldplay if they were even more vanilla and boring and found an electric keyboard. Weird, dull electronic “rock” that doesn’t do much well. Vocals were mostly bad. Opening song was kinda good, but it fell off a cliff after that, and the listens reflect that: after the opener, all the rest of the tracks had between 20k and 40k listens each. Another example of UK slop making it onto the list for no reason. Low 2/5

Um mistureba de muita coisa boa. Analógico com eletrônico, downbeat com prog, um grande panelão cheio de deliciosos ingredientes. E tudo é executado satisfatoriamente. Mas falta algo. De certo modo, é um disco frouxo, sem atitude e garra ou mordida. E por mais que seja um disco bem produzido com instrumentalização variada, complexa e interessante, ele falha gravemente em prender a atenção. Falta intenção, talvez. Continua sendo um ótimo álbum, muito bom para uma escuta causal e descontraída. Sempre uma nova camada para ser estudada e apreciada. Belo! 4/5

My god this was a boring listen. They had the one single in High Fidelity and I guess Robert Dimery heard it so now everything they ever did is a must listen in his book.

Maybe not an "essential album", but a very cool discovery.

Not for me

Overall enjoyed the chill vibes but think it eventually gets a bit too one note 3

This was a fun listen while leaving the beach. I see where Django Django got their sound from. Will listen to this again. 6.75/10 Top song Squares

Having now listened to hundreds of albums I had never heard (often heard OF) before, I am increasingly coming to the conclusion that it may have been possible to love almost ANYTHING that was part of your formative years and in line with an identity you wanted to create and live for yourself. So, dreamy and inconsequential though this album sounds to me, I could see a scenario where a younger me might have become obsessed with it and similar stuff, adopted it as my own, and even allowed it to shape my outlook on life - if that is not overly dramatic, but for me it feels realistic. So I am just happy and relieved that my formative years and influences were essentially the mid 70s to early 80s. Doesn't mean I haven't enjoyed and indeed had relatively minor obsessions with artists and songs that came later, I mean I do like think of myself as multi-generational, but it is hard (and indeed unnecessary) to shake off the initial startling and joyful discovery of your own musical youth 🙂

I think I kinda enjoyed these guys last time but I just found this one really boring, unobtrusive and forgettable.

no pizza for them

Was that 45 minutes for 45 hours. Whichever, I'll never get it back.

Sounds like Django Django without the energy. Meh

I would put it on in my coffee shop. But probably not often.

More innocuous songs that you'd appreciate if you were tripping too hard but otherwise bland dishwater

This is a lot more fun that I expected. Its like listening to the more modern 2020s indie electropop like you'd hear in a Life is Strange game. Squares is the standout here, just solid ethereal vibes throughout.

The album was a whole vibe listened twice!

There's nothing wrong with this album. I reckon it could have been great but there's something missing

They made this cover art in two seconds so naturally I thought the project was going to be shit. Good job working against yourself at first but then proving to be decent at making music.

It’s ok. Pleasant in parts and inoffensive. Not much else really though.

Interesting style of music, it wasn't unpleasant, but nothing particularly grabbed my attension. Won't listen to again.

Ugly, amateur cover art. Bland, musical wallpaper. A couple of better songs can't save this, and the last song is execrable.

I had no idea about this band but I’m glad I know of them now. Great listen

Får ikke helt taket på dette, og vokalisten høres ut som han som synger den Yoda Seagulls sangen.

For en deilig plate. Helt nydelig sound.

Intetsigende. Glemte at jeg hørte på den.

Alt-Rocky electronica with some downtempo/trip-hop vibes. A kind of bridge between Radiohead and TV on the Radio type feel at times, though a bit less experimental. Repetitive in many ways (general feel, tempo, lyrics) but the songs still have some movement. Overall a relaxed, catchy, kind of spacey, detached feeling to it. A lot of good moments, but lacking the big wowing moments.

Bizarre but I liked it. It was giving AnCo a lot at times. Not a favourite but still a surprisingly great album. Colour me suprised

The highs were high, the lows were mid. I understood what they were doing (and they doing it well from a technique perspective), but I couldn’t help but be bored for most of the album. I wanted every song to be Squares, and ultimately was left wanting.

A well made album that didn’t really move me.

I really don’t have too much to say. Didn’t love it, didn’t hate it. Sounded a little like the Beatles at times.

Lo escuché por encima estaba okey

I did like a couple of the early singles, but this album simply does not do it for me Its just seemed quite samey, and a little boring

Like a lot of people, I became aware of Beta Band from hearing Dry The Rain from that scene in High Fidelity. This album doesn’t have anything on it that would make me buy it if I heard it while record shopping, but it’s very good. It’s the most solid 4 I’ve heard so far. Not 3.9. Not 4.1. Just a solid 4.

Another album that had me bored to tears

Another one…it’s a week of twos…shouldn’t this list be more

Klart nogen sjove oplevelser her. Åbneren var et kæmpe mindfuck, men fik mig på sporet af kor musik fra Gunter Kallmann. Men her er grundformen til sejt triphop. Kæmpe 3 tal. (Micro 4er)

Indie feel. Hyggeligt. Nogle gode sange. Men meget fyld.

This is fine. It doesn't really seem to go anywhere. Some odd instrumentation sounds here and there.

I was initially quite dismissive of what I thought was music of little character, and gradually I started to hear elements of Elbow in the latter tracks. Their initial album was rather more experimental than this one and there are elements of RnB and electronica but an overall mellow psychedelic character, which I tend to favour less in more recent decades. This is not an artist I will actively seek out in the future despite a few promising moments - I don't see where a long term audience lies for this kind of 'uncut' magazine stuff.

Tuesday, 15 July, 2026 Surprisingly good. Catchy hooks. Enjoyed the vibe. A few standout tracks.

It’s annoying how this sounds like it should be a band that plays instruments but it’s very electronic oriented. Not bad but not great.

No relation to the comedy film, apparently. This album opens with a very recognisable sample of the 1970 song Daydream by the Gunter Kallman Choir which fits very nicely into the laid back shoegazy trip hop electronica vibe of this album. The first listen through sort of washed over me but I hit play again and started to appreciate this as an excellent listen for a sunny Sunday morning with a cool breeze blowing through the house. It won’t set the world on fire (climate change is already doing that, amirite?) but I think this will be going into regular rotation on the playlist.

01) Squares - 9,0 02) Al Sharp - 8,0 03) Human Being - 7,5 04) Gone - 7,0 05) Dragon - 7,5 06) Broke - 7,5 07) Quiet - 8,0 08) Alleged - 7,5 09) Life - 7,0 10) Eclipse - 7,0 TOTAL: 7,60 (76/100) Current ranking: 369/968

Shit.

Pas mal je connaissais pas

Have been meaning to listen to the Beta Band for a while, so good to have my hand forced here. Really liked it and some great tracks, looking forward to hearing more.

#995. I listened to this while hungover, and I honestly think that might be the strategy. Some music is best paired with certain drugs that seem to make it better, but I think Beta Band is best paired with too much alcohol yesterday. 4/5: decent

Superbly boring but with some nice moments. Felt like I was waiting for something to turn, alright to listen to and felt a bit more 'retro' than early 200s

A bit boring overall with some nice moments scattered about. 2-3 stars

Only knew one song from this band until now. Good album.

Vocals remind me of 60s psychedelia a bit. A pretty smooth and unassuming record that was just ok. Didn't grab me in a noticable way. 2.5/5.

I really do not get The Beta Band

Plutôt chiant;

Album cover: 1 + fact that we've already had albums by them that sound very similar works against it, too. (that's becoming a major complaint of mine) But, judging it solely on its own merits, it's not a bad album. Not great, but not bad.

See my previous review on this band.

This is my 2nd Beta Band album to come up on this website. The first one I listened to was "Heroes to Zeros". I had never heard of this band before that but I liked 8/12 songs on that one - so it was a pleasant surprise. Can the Beta Band surprise me again? Lets find out on today's episode of 1001 Albums. Thoughts after listening 3 times ... Sometimes I hear similarities to Flaming Lips, Beck, Spoon, Alt-J, Beatles, even Pink Floyd. All bands that I love. But they have their own thing going on - it's just in parts here and there where I notice those similarities. Alt-J were definitely around after this. Spoon were doing things before this but started to get more popular around this same time I think. I like how they change up the songs - speed up/slow down, change drum patterns, change instrumentation etc. I like how the production/arrangement leaves space to hear specific instruments - piano, guitar, bass, synthesizer etc. I like the loopy drums on much of this. I like the vocals. I like how a couple of the songs stretch out - giving a kind of hypnotic effect. I need to pay attention to the lyrics more, as I listen to this going forward. After the 2nd and 3rd listen - I was just grooving on it and I like EVERY song. I'm excited to hear these songs pop up on my automated playlists. I read that they toured with Radiohead in 2001. That would have been an awesome show. But I had 2 little kids at home and one was only 1 year old - so concerts were a bit lower on the priority scale at that particular time. I think psychedelic electronic folky trip hop is my jam. Liked songs on Spotify: 10/10 Rating: 5/5

Second straight album I have gotten hurt on here that feels like parody

This was interesting, I don't think I'd heard it before. The Beta Band have that aura around them but if you weren't there at the time, I don't think you get it. Still, it's interesting music. High 2s.

I had low expectations for this, but the start was pretty cool. Nice blend of plunderphonics and lo-fi indie. But it faded for me over the course of the record, the last few tracks becoming just background noise. 3.4/5

it's fine. i enjoyed it, but it isn't super memorable. no real standout tracks. no real stinkers. something of a middle ground. great background music. perfectly ignorable, but if you tune in there's enough to like.

I listened to this but can’t really remember much. I think it was fine.

3.1 From a complete outsider's perspective, it sounds like they were trying to latch on to the success of Dry the Rain

Good enough for ★★★

I wasn't aware of this band at all prior to today, and after listening to this album I am very grateful for that fact. It wasn't band in a "I can't listen to this shit" way, but it was just humdrum and monotonous.

Dreamy and hypnotic, but packed with personal moments - not the norm for space music!

I didnt think music could get more boring and bland than this. No wonder I have never heard of these guys.

First couple tracks all I could think of is Y2K, Fatboy Slim, portable CD players. But album got more and more interesting, really liked their use of psychedelic influence and it appears this is a pretty dang unique band

2 stars

This album is a vibe! Not a vibe I'll often be in the mood for, and the tracks do blur a bit, but I'll happy spend time here again. Rating: 2.5

thought it was my first time hearing of "the beta band" turns out i heard them once in "high fidelity". i assumed i wouldn't enjoy the album much in the beginning but it surprised me. i thought there was a pretty good variety (might be because i listened to the second half at a different time).

This surprised me, a very worthy and solid 3 stars

I mean, this was perfectly pleasant to have fun in the background, but it's probably not something I'll return to. It just felt mediocre!

Cool vibe to this album. Dragon stood out. 3/5

Nice for a while but I got tired of it before it was over.

Very good

Great bunch of lads

Squares stood out, give or take the rest

Good album good times

Very very good, really enjoyed this

The Beta Band have a kind of ASMR tone about them that just makes this enjoyable to listen to. From the familiar "Squares" [daydream, I fell asleep amongst the flowers...] to the electro drums on Broke, it's all fun. I'll be diving into more Beta Band after this!

Found the album interesting and played it multiple times since …

geen idee waar ik squares van ken, mooi album. zwakt wel af naar het einde

Interesting but not for me

Oh boy, another Beta Band album. I get to be disappointed and annoyed and bored out of my mind simultaneously. I would say that these guys are the biggest one trick ponies in rock and roll but they wouldn’t know rock and roll if it . . . zzzzzzz . . . if it was. . . zzzzzzz . . . Huh?! Oh sorry, I seem to have fallen asleep there. Must’ve been the droning, hypnotic, monotone music I suppose I’ve been listening to all day but I can’t say for sure because none of it was memorable enough not to forget even as I was listening to it. Where was I? Oh yeah, this band is super boring.

Another brand new to me. This is an odd one to me because I recognize that the music is complex and good and the recording well produced...but I'm having a hard time connecting to it. It's like there's some subtle tonality that grates on me. Fascinating, but not for me.

Because these are my guys growing up

An album seemingly begging to open up and embrace its interesting concepts but feels consistently tamed and kept quiet. Wished more from this.

Rate: 8/10.

Listenable but nothing that stood out other than the first song which I think is mostly because it had samples I was familiar with. Not awful or anything but just meh

I admire the creative weirdness, but I'm over here trying not to nod out (and I already had a full night's sleep and a breakfast before settling into this album). The overly sparse arrangements aren't helping. After more than half the album, I can say with certainty that this is not my jam. On a positive note, this Beta Band album, seems a bit more cohesive than their other album on this list. Most bearable: "Squares", "Broke"

Overall: 2.725 (rounded to 3) Consistency: 2.9 Originality: 2.5 Enjoyment: 3 Virtuosity: 2.5 1. Squares - 3 2. Al Sharp - 2 3. Human Being - 3 4. Gone - 3 5. Dragon - 3 6. Broke - 3 7. Quiet - 3 8. Alleged - 3 9. Life - 3 10. Eclipse - 3

One of the most unique albums so far, fun vibes Highlights: "Human Being", "Broke", "Alleged"

Cool ablum

Cool!

I liked the first few songs and thought I was going to be pleasantly surprised by this album. They had a nice flow/beat and a unique vibe and I was enjoying it. But it didn’t last beyond that. I don’t know if the songs became weaker or the sound just grew too repetitive, but the album quickly lost my interest and started to feel monotonous.

The more I listened to this album, the less I enjoyed it. It started as being good background noise while I was busy but by the end I was being overly critical. Shortened version is this isn’t anything special and I don’t see any value for why it belongs on this project.

Beck b-sides but boring.

I liked it more than expected. Some great flows and beats, first few tracks in particular but album loses steam as it goes on. Got a bit muddy.

Loved this.

Squares being first was surely the highlight. I didn't know that was the original track for Lupe's Daydreamin.

Melancholy at it's best.

Cool to hear a where some samples came from. Otherwise its ok. 2.5 goin up.

This album surprised me. Had heard of The Beta Band before but always thought they were a soul R&B type combo. Their name and the album title reinforced that error. Then found out they were Scottish. Now I don’t like to stereotype but I’m sat here watching a report about the Scottish football fans on tour in the US on the eve of their World Cup opener. I doubt if many of the any of these Tam O’Shanter kilted warriors have this album on their playlist. I suspect Biffy Clyro are a more likely accompaniment to their $20 a pint Tennents beer substitute than this album. But I’m English and the laid back vibe appealed to me in the same way no doubt England will perform and add to the list of failures. 4/5 12/6/26

Meh.2

Really enjoyed this one, like a trippier, less-focused Hookworms

Didn’t fuck with

I like it it’s funky and giving me some beach boys vibes I enjoyed listening to it

Vibing with the general sound, although most songs after the first one mush into one for me. Side note: I stared at this cover way too long and the explosion started to look more and more like a chicken nugget the longer I looked...just thought y'all just should know

I liked it :) one of my favorites so far squares was great

Це один із альбомів, яких я чув. Там був вокал, інструментарій, навіть продакшн був. Пісні, пісні там теж були. А так, окрім пісень було мало чого. Обложка була, наприклад, ще назва була, тааак... Оцінка: середня-висока 5

Muy bueno

Spacey rock

I didn't know this was the band that did Dry the Rain. Frankly, I kept forgetting what name that song was but I recognized the voice when listening to this album. I thoroughly enjoyed but I assume their debut from '98 is better than this one.

How did i miss this band in 2001? They're practically local to me! Anyway a Scottish version of Flaming Lips or Beck. Fabulous!

This really did very little for me. It sort of blended into the background as I did some tasks around the house. Reading about the band just after listening though, I was surprised to see that they’re Scottish. I know it shouldn’t, but that does give them a slight boost in my book

This one is good! Sound like a mix of trip hop and ambient and hip hop and pop and all of these things combined. Love it!

Fun, chill album

2000's soundtrack! loved it!

Pretty good for a band I'd never heard of!

Coool

This is alright. There's definitely potential there but it mostly falls a bit flat for me. I like the music mostly, don't love the vocals. "Gone" is probably the best song.

Not for me

Didn't love it, didn't hate it.

This was unexpected. A bit on the blah side, I think I need to be in the right mood to really appreciate it, bit overall not bad.

Psychedelic indie pop and folktronica built from loose grooves, dusty acoustic textures, mellow electronics, and hazy vocals drifts like falling asleep in a hammock while someone quietly changes the radio station every few minutes—warm, strange, and at first deceptively immersive. The album’s laid-back surface hides intricate layering and subtle experimentation that gradually pull the listener deeper into its atmosphere while verging on shapelessness, which leaves more bored in the process.

Meh

langweilig

me likey quite a lot

super nice

For a lot of the tracks on this one I was very close to finding them too boring. But a few tracks managed to keep me just interested enough to not want to turn it off Standouts Quiet 3/5

Has a consistent sound at throughout the entire album. I actually kinda liked this I would give it a 7/10

The Beta Band is a weird one. They definitely do strange things with their sound and mix. I remember when they opened for Radiohead on the Kid A tour. The weirdness even struck me then, way out in an audience of high people waiting for the main band. And it’s weird that they’re on this list until you remember that they’re in the pocket for the editor of “The Book.” Thing is, I continued to listen to the Beta Band here and there over the years and they have grown on me. In a very interesting way. My husband can’t stand the way the vocals often sound like they’re coming from behind a mattress behind the rest of the band. It drives him up a wall. They do come to the foreground at key moments, but it’s only a moment and not enough to keep his attention. Still… I think it’s a feat the way they have worked into me. Despite the weirdness. 4 Boolean: yes, gotta say yes

eh

It's fine. Bored

Nothing out of the ordinary for The Beta Band, which could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on how you feel about them. I've been aware of them since High Fidelity, had my moment with them which I can appreciate, but that's not really a part of my musical past I've been compelled to revisit. Warrants a place here, just not moving the needle much for me these days.

starts with that one meme song. it's aight

Boring

Respect it more than I love it. Could be a grower though. Rubbish artwork. Dry the Rain remains a near peerless banger and nothing here comes close.

Génial j'ai passé un très bon moment

This was pretty alright. I liked the sound, and it kinda reminded me of Jack Johnson in places, and someone else, but I can't quite place who. Anyway I dug it, nice positive lyrics and happy feel most of the way through, but with some spooky/mysterious vibes too. I listened to it twice and enjoyed it, but I probably wouldn't listen again. Four stars.

Why are there multiple Beta Band albums on this list. They are mediocre at best.

I think I first heard about the Beta Band from the movie High Fidelity. I listened to that song from the soundtrack, but never the full album. This was pretty cool. While It didn't really fit into one genre, I also really didn't think that it was all over the place. 5/21/26

6.5/10. It has a cool, laid-back, experimental vibe, but it didn’t fully grab me. There are interesting ideas here, and the sound feels different enough to stand out.

Experimental but i like it!

very cool

perfectly mediocre

I can't explain why but I hate them

Not for me. 1/5

Average

Way better than their next album that is also on this list. It was fun listening to. Nothing really outstanding, but still interesting enough for some head nodding and feet tapping.

Nice album art. Shame about the album. Dull.

I think I liked this more than Heroes to Zeros. There are some good moments on here; I liked Quiet a fair bit. But that sample/quote of Daydream in Squares is practically a cover version, and serves to remind that the original is at least as good, if not better.

Christ that cover. 4/5

Sophomore Jocks.

Oh boy, this album is like trying to wrangle an octopus while wearing oven mitts. It's interesting, and a bit of a struggle in places. It's an auditory puzzle box. Spins: 2 Playlist Additions - Squares - Human Being - Eclipse

I could see myself get lost in a lot of this album.

I had never heard of this band before. Strikes me as Tangerine Dream meets MGMT meets Alan Parsons Project. A real find and it grows on you - I ended up listening to the album all the way through four times...

Quite liked it.

Definitely some fun sounds and stuff and a little xtc vibe sprinkled in. Will be interested to listen again

Very unremarkable, a kind of cheesy!

I've played it three times and, while I’ve been mildly enjoying some parts, the whole thing keeps slipping away - like being flashed by the Men In Black after every tune. A release so amazingly dull, that it becomes a masterpiece in that aspect. Now I know how sparrow's fart sounds like.

M'eh

This is pretty average to me, cool sounds but overall not doing anything that other trip hop or psychadelic albums haven’t done better. 3 EPs is better but I’m not sure I’d say either of these are a must listen even if I had enjoyed them more

We all live together on a little round ball.

++: Squares, Human Being, Dragon, Life, Eclipse +: Al Sharp, Quiet, Alleged +-: Gone Broke 7,6/10

I first didn't think this was as good as the other Beta Band album that was generated a while back but by the end felt like this was the better album. This is super weird, but still somehow stays together enough to be a cohesive album. Not much else to say but it is weird and I like it. Surprised these guys don't get more hype ( at least in my corner of the world).

I’d never heard of the Beta Band before, but I enjoyed this quite a bit. It’s a bit psychedelic and experimental with some electronic flair, but the production still felt minimalist and not over the top. Overall, it comes together in a really good way.

It was ok. Kinda chill listening stuff. The album itself did not really knock me away but the band could be good. Maybe worth checking out later but better than average. 4/5.

Never heard this before but I quite like it. Chill guitar-driven lo-fi pop-rock. I guess quite influential on a lot of noughties lo-fi music?

Lots of memories to this one, especially Squares but kinda disappointed by it not living up to how good I remember it being

Love Eclipse. Like what you could do editing with tape or something.

Hot Shots II is the second full-length album from the Beta Band, the critically acclaimed group from Scotland. They made a folk-based version of trip hop, creating an interesting twist on brit pop/alt rock. Their first three releases, all EPs, caught considerable positive critical attention. The Beta Band never found the success that their initial work may have predicted; they only released three full-length LPs, and never found significant commercial success with any of them. Hot Shots II is the best produced and best critically received of their LPs. It includes "Squares," a smooth, engaging example of the trip hop that Beta Band made.

Hadn't heard them before but it feels like this could've been made in the 70s or today, their voices sound a lot like Parcels but with guitars like Pink Floyd

It's kinda like a less exciting Gorillaz. Some decent vocal work and the writing isn't terrible, but I'm just a little bored.

3.5 Listened to this quite a bit back in day. Mostly holds up. Psychedelic trip hop laid back crooning

Ooh, Squares is Daydream in Blue? Oh both sample the same older track... Laid-back trip-hop. With some indie rock too. Best track - Squares, Quiet 3 stars - not heard much like it before but still not mind-blowing

One thing I enjoy about this experience is the generator showing me artists that I would have never sought out on my own. This group is a perfect example of that. It was cool at times and kind of sleepy and boring at times but I didn't hate I had to listen to it. However, the misses outnumber the hits, especially towards the end. I did enjoy the song I recognized from tik tok. 2/5

cool album, very unique style while still being very listenable. I've heard 'Squares' only in ads and other media before so funny hearing it in full for the first time.

..

I enjoyed their other album on here a decent bit so I’m surprised how much I didn’t like this one. The songs just never came together for me. Rating: 1.2

very unpredictable i liked it a lot we can feel the search of a original sound

It was cool, then fine, then eh.

I fully expected that this would be some boring and loud post-grunge album but it wasn’t, so my ears got a pleasant surprise today. 4/5.

Honestly, this was pretty good! I really enjoyed the vocals and instrumentals and I think I'll return to this one. 7/10

Coo

This was pretty chill and pleasant

ehhhh

🎧Dimery, respectfully, what are we doing here?

Wow brutal

Quiet was the standout track to me, sonically had interesting ideas but lacked any real punch for me.

I will never be listening to this again

Did not enjoy this one bit.

i’m bored :/ uninspiring and mediocre. only high point was quiet and even then i would say it was a slight bump up rather than a spike. it wasn’t bad but it wasn’t good.

Boring and shockingly self important

I am a Beta Band hater. Both Beta Band albums on the list were removed from later editions of the book. It's like they were only added at the start because they needed some 2000s albums that just came out. And then it was realized they really didn't need to be on the list

OK.

Squares is great

Hadn't heard of this band, didn't know what to expect, this was alright.

This is shit other than 1 song it has no structure.

For having never heard of them, I really dig it!

Another fine electronica album that doesn't do much for me.

This was a relaxing listen noting their various influencers.

If you call yourself the beta band and under deliver. You're lik ironically genius or just sad.

Þægileg og skemmtileg, gladdi mig við garðverkin í dag. Mjög til í að hlusta aftur.

Groupe inconnu. Electronica, 77 eme album, pas désagréable en musique d'ambiance => 2/5

Interesting sound. I never heard these dudes before, but I recognized "Squares" from an ad for a tech device. Shades of Trip Hop, Soul, and EDM. And for ambient, the songwriting isn't inane. It's not profound, but it doesn't need to be. Altogether a fun listen.

I found the album to be pretty boring

Goes on a great three song run part way through but overall I'm just completely indifferent to this. Could easily see if someone said this was the worst album they ever heard.

Interesting. Liked them and liked that Beck came up next

**Hot Shots II** (2001) represents The Beta Band's creative rebound—a deliberate step back from the willful chaos of their self-titled 1999 debut toward something more focused and song-oriented. Released during the twilight of Britpop and the rise of post-rock electronica, the album captures a band synthesizing pastoral folk, trip-hop, and psychedelia into a distinctive, if polarizing, sonic identity. ## Music & Production The most immediately striking aspect of *Hot Shots II* is its production aesthetic. Enlisting C-Swing (Colin Emmanuel), known for his work with pop/R&B artist Jamelia, the band traded their previous lo-fi collage approach for something more polished and groove-oriented . The result is what critics described as a "neo-psychedelic folk-rock album for the 21st century" —organic electronics pulsing beneath acoustic textures, with R&B drum patterns and shiftless dance beats providing the backbone . The album operates in a contained, repetitive mode—a "rinse and repeat" philosophy, as one critic noted, comparing it to shampoo instructions . Where previous Beta Band records reveled in zany samples and sloppy experimentation, *Hot Shots II* locks into grooves and stays there. Tracks like "Al Sharp" exemplify this approach: xylophones, sampled strings, groovy basslines, and gorgeous multi-tracked vocals create something meditative and richly textured . "Dragon" morphs from blissful trip-hop into raucous dub-rock before retreating into lo-fi psychedelia , while "Broke" deploys raw, temperate beats alongside 8-bit sounding synths . The sound palette is diverse yet cohesive: jangling guitars, sad lilting piano motifs, sitar drones, and an arsenal of samples, wheezes, beeps, and clicks . There's a Stone Roses-esque baggy shuffle to several songs, with "Alleged" and "Human Being" recalling the blunted loucheness of Happy Mondays . The production maintains a "meticulous" density—quiet, languorous, and meticulously arranged . ## Lyrics & Themes Frontman Steve Mason's lyrics on *Hot Shots II* occupy a strange poetic territory—"brain-fried, hippy-dippy" yet oddly affecting . Thematically, the album is a "dizzy, magical voyage of self-discovery" , with Mason sounding perpetually "doleful and dislocated, knocked out of emotional sync" . The opening track "Squares" sets an ominous tone with lines like "I've seen the demons but they didn't make a sound" , while the album's lyrical references range from spaceships to pizza consumption as symbols of personal fulfillment . "Quiet" addresses agoraphobia with surprising tenderness: "You can go outside where the sun and the people blind you / You can go outside where the love of the people finds you" . "Life" poses existential questions with a folk-hop lament: "I want to be somebody else, I feel I wanna be free… is this me for life?" . By the closing track "Eclipse," Mason arrives at a Zen-like affirmation: "Can't keep quiet for long / I'm a human being / Can't help singing a song / I'm a human being" . Throughout, the lyrics function more as chant-like mantras than narrative storytelling—they "don't bear a lot of scrutiny" individually but fit the album's overall trance-like scheme . The repetition is deliberate, sometimes hitting lines "over your head" until they become part of the rhythmic hypnosis . ## Influence & Legacy *Hot Shots II* arrived at a cultural crossroads. The Beta Band had already gained notoriety through the film *High Fidelity* (2000), where John Cusack's character famously declares he'll sell "five copies of The 3 EPs" —a moment that cemented their status as a "secret undiscovered gem" in indie culture, for better or worse. The album's influence is diffuse but recognizable. Critics drew parallels to Super Furry Animals' wilful eclecticism and Talk Talk's "creepy child-like melodies" , while others noted the "prototype Gorillaz" quality in its trip-hop/rock fusion . Its blend of pastoral British folk with electronic production anticipated directions later explored by artists like Alt-J . The album also shares DNA with Primal Scream's *Screamadelica*—"organic electronics stripped of glorious Ecstasy epiphanies and embellished instead with towering Gregorian harmonies" . Despite its innovations, the band's commercial impact remained limited. *Hot Shots II* is often regarded as their "happy medium"—the moment they balanced experimentation with accessibility —though history has somewhat forgotten it compared to *The Three EPs*. It was removed from later editions of the *1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die* book , suggesting its canonical status has diminished over time. ## Pros - **Focused songcraft**: After the unfocused sprawl of their debut, the album delivers "tight, accessible songs that had structure, hooks and the best of their songwriting prowess" - **Lush production**: C-Swing's sheen combined with the band's ramshackle looseness hits a "happy medium" - **Hypnotic grooves**: The repetitive, trance-inspired approach creates an entrancing listening experience that rewards both close attention and background immersion - **Distinctive atmosphere**: The "quiet tone" and "slightly languorous" beats create a unique nighttime mood that has "aged gracefully" - **Standout tracks**: "Squares," "Al Sharp," "Dragon," and "Quiet" represent some of the band's finest moments - **Vocal harmonies**: The multi-tracked vocals and Beatles-esque three-part harmonies on tracks like "Eclipse" demonstrate sophisticated arrangement skills ## Cons - **Loss of weirdness**: The "cleansing" of the band's trademark zaniness and willingness to experiment leaves some fans missing the beautiful chaos of earlier work - **Vocal limitations**: Mason's "low key and boring delivery" and "mumbled whispering" can grate over a full album; his voice is an acquired taste that some find "pretentious" or "droning" - **Repetition fatigue**: The album's reliance on looping grooves and lyrical mantras can feel like "padding for time" , with some tracks "fading carbon copies" of each other - **Uneven engagement**: Several listeners report the album "never leaving first gear" or becoming background music that "eases through the ears and out the other side with barely a mark left" - **Lyrics vs. sound**: The "chant-like lyrics" referencing spaceships and pizza don't always reward close reading - **Inconsistent impact**: While some tracks soar, others feel like "willful weirdness designed to disrupt the listener's flow" ## Verdict *Hot Shots II* is ultimately "The Improbable Band" making the improbable work —a record that "really, really shouldn't work, but history will prove The Beta Band right" . It succeeds as a mood piece: a sleepy, late-night album that finds its groove and luxuriates in it . While it may lack the revolutionary spark of *The Three EPs* or the commercial punch of their contemporaries, it represents a crucial middle ground in early-2000s British music—where folk intimacy met electronic expansion, and where willful eccentricity finally learned to coexist with songcraft.

Decent enough

I didn't hate it, but it's nothing I would ever willingly put on again. I guess I can add trip hop to the list of genres I don't really care for? Because this is the second album I've had in that category that I haven't enjoyed.

I think I like "Heroes to Zeroes" more. This one is more subdued.

Surprised I ended up really enjoying this! I like the sound and can see myself listening to this album again and again.

Early 00s thirty something dinner party music.

Bland

we already had these guyss

Not my thing

i only like the first song

Love the band, love this album. So weird but so commercial. Followed Steve Masons solo career post Beta Band. Maybe let down by a couple of tracks.